Homeowner fires at attempted thief

A homeowner took matters into his own hands Friday when a thief attempted to rob his home.

A suspect entered a home on East Maiden Road on Friday about 1 p.m. in an apparent attempted larceny, said Catawba County Sheriff's Office Lt. Joel Fish.

The suspect, upon entering the house, saw the homeowner was still in the residence and didn't continue the larceny attempt.

Fish said the homeowner saw the intruder and thought the attempted thief had a gun. As the intruder left the residence, the homeowner grabbed a gun and fired several shots into the intruder's car.

Fish said he didn't know if the suspect was injured in the shooting because the suspect left the residence "in a hurry."

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the residence at 1:03 p.m.

Deputies then put out an attempt-to-locate call on the intruder's car, which is a small, black SUV. The intruder was described in the call as a white male with an unknown clothing description.

The attempt-to-locate call advised that the suspect vehicle had three to five .40-caliber bullet holes on its exterior and glass shattered in one of its windows. Area law enforcement officers who saw a vehicle matching the description were advised to pull the vehicle over and prevent the suspect from escaping.

The vehicle and the suspect were located about 2:30 p.m., which was about 30 minutes after the attempt-to-locate call.

Fish said, as of press time, deputies were in the process of arresting the suspect and bringing him before a magistrate at the Catawba County Justice Center. Fish didn't know the suspect's name or what charges he will face.

Deputies will know additional details about the crash once the incident report is filed.

Fish said the homeowner who shot at the intruder's vehicle isn't facing charges at this time.

Copyright 2010 Observer News Enterprise

A Maiden homeowner shot at an attempted thief's car Friday as the thief tried to leave the home.